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Spring Preview: Oklahoma Needs Special Teams to Improve for SEC Play

After a down year, the Sooners must find answers on special teams in 2024, and it's on first-year analyst Doug Deakin to find them.

Bryce McKinnis

Spring Preview: Oklahoma Needs Special Teams to Improve for SEC Play
Spring Preview: Oklahoma Needs Special Teams to Improve for SEC Play /

Oklahoma was near the bottom of the Big 12 in several special teams statistical categories last year — 11th in field goals percentage, 10th in punt return average, 127th nationally in special teams efficiency rating. 

That can't happen in the SEC. New analyst Doug Deakin replaces Jay Nunez (he got an on-field coaching gig at Alabama) and has some things to fix.

Start with field goals, where Deakin will have some options..

The incumbent, redshirt senior Zach Schmit, hit 15-of-21 field goal attempts last year and is just below 70 percent in his two seasons as the full-time starter. There’s reason to be alarmed as the Sooners embark into the SEC, in which every team but Vanderbilt kicked better than Oklahoma in 2023. OU missed a good percentage of high-leverage field goals the last two seasons, and it caused Brent Venables to make third- and fourth-down decisions he might not make if he had a more reliable kicker.

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Tyler Keltner, who joined OU this offseason after spending a season as Florida State’s backup, was brought in to challenge Schmit for the job. Keltner was a two-time All-Southern Conference selection at FCS East Tennessee State before transferring to FSU and has a career clip of 75.6 percent.

The jury’s obviously still out on Liam Evans, the freshman from nearby Moore, and his development in Jerry Schmidt’s weight room, but there’s reason to be excited about Evans’ potential both as a field goal and kickoff specialist.

Evans was ranked No. 7 nationally by Kohl’s Kicking Camps after he “dominated” its national scholarship camp last summer. Kohl’s posted a video in August of Evans and five other FBS recruits hitting consecutive 63-yard field goals, and Evans’ might have had the most pop of them all. He also knocked through a school-record 51-yard field goal in a game for Moore High School last year.

Short-term memory is key at this position. Venables said Schmit was the best option in 2023, beating out Redi Mustafaraj in practice while Gavin Marshall was injured. Mustafaraj, who has since entered the transfer portal, handled kickoff duties in last year’s spring game while Schmit was on placekicks. It’s possible this spring could yield similar results.

One thing Schmit has that the others don’t is two years of kicking at the Power 5 level in Power 5 stadiums. It’s not something to scoff at as the Sooners will endure roaring, passionate crowds in Auburn, Oxford, Columbia and Baton Rouge next year.

Schmit handled kickoffs last year, so that may or may not change in 2024 if he retains the field goal job. Evans obviously has a big leg, and Keltner was very good at kickoffs at ETSU.

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Senior Luke Elzinga looks like the best option at punter for his ability to punt against a short field, his job exclusively the first half of last season before he got the keys to the full-time role in the UCF game. His average on 27 punts came out to 45.1 yards after he transferred from Central Michigan.

Josh Plaster, who handled the starting role through the first half of the season, placed five of his 14 punts inside the 20 but struggled to be consistent in key moments against Cincinnati and Texas. He’s a viable competitor for the starting job but will have ground to make up with how Elzinga came on last year.

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In his second year as punt returner, Gavin Freeman struggled to field balls late last year and coughed up a few unsightly fumbles. He didn’t have a big punt return after his 82-yard return in the first quarter of the first game against Arkansas State. His breakaway speed is undeniable, but if he wants to lock down his position this year, he needs to be more consistent under the lights. Peyton Bowen, who was a star in high school and brought back one return for 20 yards last year, might be a good alternative.

Jalil Farooq returned almost every kickoff last year and was usually very good, averaging 22.2 yards per runback and popping a 62-yarder but also losing a fumble. Farooq could keep the job, but if his role expands on offense, look for Deakin to turn to someone younger and perhaps more explosive.

Ben Anderson was excellent on long snaps last season, and Plaster did fine as the holder on placekicks, and both should have a firm grip on those spots this spring.

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Bryce McKinnis
BRYCE MCKINNIS

Bryce is a contributor for AllSooners and has been featured in several publications, including the Associated Press, the Tulsa World and the Norman Transcript. A Tishomingo native, Bryce’s sports writing career began at 17 years old when he filed his first story for the Daily Ardmoreite. As a student at the University of Central Oklahoma, he worked on several award-winning projects, including The Vista’s coverage of the 2021 UCO cheer hazing scandal. After graduating in 2021, Bryce took his first job covering University of Tulsa and Oral Roberts University sports for the Tulsa World before accepting a role as managing editor of VYPE Magazine in 2022. - UCO Mass Communications/Sports Feature (2019) - UCO Mass Communications/Investigative Reporting (2021) - UCO College of Liberal Arts/Academic presentation, presidential politics and ideology (2021) - OBEA/Multimedia reporting (2021) - Beat Writer, The Tulsa World (2021-2022) - Managing Editor, VYPE Magazine (2022-2023)

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